


Eurus

by radbees



Series: thank you TEAverse very cool [2]
Category: TEAverse, Tree-verse
Genre: ALL of these are hiras suggestions and its all ur getting, Album: Eurus (The Oh Hellos), Denial of Feelings, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, no i dont take constructive criticism, u clowns will be the absolute death of me on god
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22013539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radbees/pseuds/radbees
Summary: 👁️🤚
Relationships: Aeris Geneviere Valens & Lou Eather Valens, Shizaki Mayatume/Aeris Geneviere Valens
Series: thank you TEAverse very cool [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1513493
Kudos: 2





	1. O Sleeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By god, I'll bloody up my hands  
> With everything I am  
> To cut away the mountains I've made  
> And fill the dales below

Aeris first meets the local wannabe samurai when he gets his ass kicked by him at the school's fencing club debut.

He's minding his own business the day it starts. Lou will deny it and say he was causing a scene, but Lou's a cheese-freak and a liar and nobody should believe him ever. Because making a valid point about their school's shitty water fountains just a little bit loudly while everyone was on their way to class is most definitely _not_ causing a scene thank you very much.

But maybe he's just a little too loud. Maybe. How the argument even starts, Aeris isn't sure, but he remembers some freshman in the halls that jeers something along the lines of "bet you won't, bitch, no balls" and it all goes downhill from there. The fencing club — he has no idea how it even came up — sign up sheet gets its second signature, word spreads a bit around the school, and Aeris prepares to wipe the floor when the time comes

That's how he finds himself standing in 80-degree weather, maybe a little too overdressed for the occasion, with a lot more people than he thought there'd be and they all look like they're about to watch a lion tear a gladiator apart.

(He tries to tell himself he's the lion, but his unreasonably tall opponent walks out and he immediately knows how this is ending.)

The shitty fencing lessons from his childhood hit Aeris like a truck. The feeling of holding an épée is distantly familiar but feels so wrong on every level. It doesn't help at all that the literal tree of a person standing opposite holds themselves with an almost perfect posture and professional stance.

_This was a bad idea._

"Welcome, everyone! I'm pleasantly surprised at our large crowd, but happy to have you all here to witness the long-awaited opening of our very own fencing club!"

_Fuck. Fuck._

There are whispers in the crowd. He catches snippets and scraps of everything from lunch letdowns to shopping plans, but one conversation sticks apart from everything else.

"Hey, isn't that Valens? What's he doing here?"

"Haven't you heard? Some freshman in the halls was like "bet you won't, bitch, no balls" and he does, indeed, have balls."

How did everyone know about that oh my god? Aeris wants to glare at them, but the other laughs sharply and the conversation strips the dignity straight off his back.

"Ha! You've gotta have balls to face Mayatume at fencing."

"Huh? Why?"

"The guy's a beast at anything involving any kind of sword, trust me. I once saw him fight off a gang with nothing but fruit kebabs."

_What the fuck. What the fuck. Oh my god, what the fuck._

"You're kidding."

_Please say yes oh my god._

"Am not."

_Fuck. Fuck oh my —_

"Well, that's something. It's about time Valens got put in his sorry place, anyways."

_Fuck you. Oh my god, what the fuck —_

The stupid principal — fuck him, honestly — speaks louder than the conversation. "And that concludes my introduction! Now, on with the match!" Because as it turns out, he'd been talking and hyping up the entire ordeal all while Aeris panics over his tall-as-fuck opponent.

_Oh my god. Oh my god. I'm gonna die oh fuck._

A shitty whistle blows and the end of the world starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on god fuck every and all of you clowns who convinced me to do this


	2. Dry Branches

Aeris registers very, very, very few things in the next hour.

His opponent moves fast. He gets over the "tall-as-fuck" thing fairly quickly after discovering the other mobilizes like a rabid cheetah. The track meetings from 7th grade grant him no favors while he practically sprints across the boundaries to avoid them and they leave absolutely no mercy in that department.

(It makes his lungs collapse like fucking orbeez and wastes his energy fast, but it also makes him look incredibly stupid while he blocks out the crowd's snickers.)

Said opponent is not only fast but unfairly good at fencing. So, maybe shitty childhood lessons aren't enough to win this thing, but fuck, Aeris hadn't been expecting to get outclassed this much. They move swiftly and gracefully, swishing and stabbing and whatever other fencing terms he can't remember. He's jabbed more than once and humiliated a thousand times more throughout the entire thing.

(It's very clear who's taking the title of victor today, but it didn't mean Aeris was ready to accept that peacefully at all. His ego was screaming in his ear too loudly to allow that)

The crowd is _also_ screaming in his ear plenty loud. Some are cheering the — what did those 2 idiots say their name was? Mayatume? — offender on while a too-big amount laugh at his own minor mistakes. No one calls out support and he pretends not to notice.

(Lou had, for some reason, promised to be in the crowd, and if Aeris finds out he had been cheering for the opposing side, all of his kazoos were going to end up in flames by the time he got home.)

This match is coming to a close. By the time his opponent is declared the winner, Aeris has run out of breath, energy, and dignity. He's on the floor inhaling at the speed of light with a sword neatly fitted in front of his face when a distant whistle chimes.

(It's really over, then? This humiliating spiel of back and forth battering and tiredness is finally coming to a close? Is his opponent's likely mocking facing ready to reveal itself to Aeris and the entire school? Is _Aeris_ ready for that? Ha, no. Not even close.)

Distantly, there are people clapping and whistling. His breaths come out rapidly and come in twice as quick, his stomach aches, and his fingers tremble atop the shitty headgear while it falls into the grass in slow motion. 

"Thank you all for coming out here today. And remember, this could be you, so make sure to sign yourself up to be a member of the fencing club!"

Oh, fuck off. Aeris stares directly into the sun and can only think about how he plans on leaving the club when the person he least wants to see appears out of thin air. In full view. Completely. Face uncovered.

But Aeris can't see for shit.

Staring into the sun is, in theory, a bad idea. It's also a terrible one in practice, because his vision is a blur of colors that he's 99% sure don't exist and headache-inducing brightness.

Mayatume is looking at him, though. Aeris can process that much. He also processes a hand in the sleek sunlight plastered in front of his face in an almost friendly manner. A face he doesn't know but one he'll get to know eventually unblurs for a slight second and Aeris thinks he audibly gasps.

"Hey, are you alright?"

His eyes are mismatched. One of them is blue and the other red and if Lou were here he'd declare him 150% emo. Aeris can say he trusts the stupid emo scale because it made him 200% emo, but he's not admitting that out loud like, ever.

Especially not now. Besides the eyes, Aeris catches a tuft of tied black hair and a surprisingly chiseled jaw before the sun strikes down on his eyesight like a serpent. He thinks he swears out loud, but he doesn't remember much after swatting the hand away and having his legs almost give way while they try to lift him up.

He figures he sounds — and looks — like an almost-drowned rat, but he manages to scrape up two milligrams of dignity and provide a proper response. "No, fuck off."

Mayatume is not only god at fencing, but he also doesn't know how to leave well enough alone. His eyebrows scrunch and he takes a step toward Aeris in front of that still-shrieking crowd. "Well, that isn't very nice." He rubs at the fallen hand and taps his own retreating back. "I just wanted to know if you were okay. You looked pretty — pretty worn out. Yes. I just wanted to — "

Oh, for the love of God. Aeris cannot take this anymore. He looks like he's crying, now, because of the fucking sun and his pride currently throwing a tantrum at this utter buffoon. He doesn't remember what he says after that — maybe he hadn't even said anything — but he remembers walking away from the field feeling like ten times the fool everyone had thought he was the day before. 

"Hey, taser-bitch! Where ya off to?"

Oh god. Oh fuck. Oh god oh _fuck_ , it's —

"No. Nowhere. Nobody. Shut up. Go away." His hand covers his face, but there's nothing to cover his ears or block out Lou's rage-inducing, shriek of a voice. His head comes into view and Aeris is spun in a flurry of shit-eating grins and piling murder plans.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you so blue, huh? That wasn't that bad. I mean," Lou lifts a finger and walks backward alongside him, "sure, you got your ass kicked and sure, everyone saw, but — hey! Where are you going — "

Aeris scoffs and sticks out a foot. Lou trips over it and almost — doesn't, unfortunately — falls flat on his face. Instead, he snatches his shoulder and shoves him back. Aeris's legs don't like that. They tremble like a lone sapling caught in a tornado and twist in an abnormal way before his knees give way and he lands in the dirtied grass. Something snaps. Lou screams — cries? Laughs? God, he has no fucking idea.

"Holy shit! Holy — hey, hey! Are you dead? Jesus fuck, I'm sorry, I didn't — "

The world goes blurry again. Aeris opens his mouth to tell Lou to shut up, but nothing comes out but dry air. Something lodges in his throat. He doesn't think he's breathing. Distantly, his brother is smacking his face and dragging him up. His legs go absolutely numb.

" _Fuck_! Aeris, you can't do this to me! You got us transferred to this dumbass school in the first place and if you die I'm done for! Cmon, you owe me. Get up, say something, _breathe_ , you fucking dolt!"

_I'm trying, you fucking idiot. Shut up. You're so goddamn loud, Jesus fuck._

There are footsteps, somewhere, but he can't tell if they're right beside them or a million miles away. Someone's speaking and someone else is responding and something _else_ goes numb and —

Another shitty whistle rings in his head and the end of the world part 2: electric boogaloo starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LISTEN —


	3. Grow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let be what is, let be what isn't  
> It's a natural world in which we're living  
> And if you let it alone, it will surely grow  
> Just leave it alone, child, and let it grow

Aeris wakes up alone in a white room covered head to toe in blankets and thinks he's dead. He's not nearly that lucky, though. He enjoys at least 6 seconds of silence before something in the corner of his eye stirs and screams like a banshee returning from the dead.

"He lives!"

"What the fuck?"

Lou jumps on the makeshift gurney and does an entire circus act atop his legs. He starts rambling, then, going off no less than a million words per minute. "Aye yee yee, bro! I swear, thought you had finally left us on this bitch of an earth. But," he lifts his head and grins, "you're alive! Congress rats! How's it feel?"

"Like shit." Aeris runs a somehow still-shaking hand through his unreasonably tangled locks of hair. "How long was I out for? How the fuck did I even get here?"

"Oh, like 2 and a half hours. They say you passed out from exhaustion after raising the dead. Shizaki came and carried you here. Mom will probably pick us up in like, half an hour. The school called her and she sounded pretty mad. Don't be surprised if — "

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, what? What did you — what did you _just_ say?"

"Huh? Oh — " he sits upright, " — Mom's picking us up? Yeah, you should be lucky. I heard they were about to call an — "

Aeris feels his breathing speed up. "No, no. Before that."

"Oh! You totally conked out, bro. Thought you were dead. Listen, just because some freshman in the halls says "bet you won't, bitch, no balls" doesn't mean you have to. Prove that." He sighs dramatically. "I don't think your pride is worth broken bones, you know. Maybe — "

Jesus, he's had enough. Aeris grabs the pillow off his back and whacks his brother straight in the face with it. "That's not what I meant! What did you say before that but not after _that_? That — that _thing_ about me being — being _carried_ by someone!"

Lou — the fucking speed demon — somehow manages to dodge the pillow. His mouth opens wide in an o-shaped gap while his singular brain cell processes his request.

"Oh! Yeah! Shizaki Mayatume — the dude who beat you at fencing — he saw you pass out and brought you here. He's such a cool dude. I heard he took on a gang with nothing but a fruit kebab — "

"For _fuck's sake_!"

Okay, okay. Okay. Aeris can deal with being beaten at fencing — what the fuck was he expecting, anyway. He can deal with everyone having seen the event take place — the freshman in the halls was right. He can deal with the splitting headache and broken legs and annoying Lou and exasperated mother and nagging nurse and everything else. But, fuck! Being carried away to the nurse's office like a damsel in distress by none other than the idiot who had bested him? That was a new low. His pride isn't buried in a ditch, anymore, it's in the core of the earth rotting away into nothing, at this point.

"... Are you like, good in there?" Lou flicks at his temple. "You look like shit."

"It's because I feel like it" is ready to roll off his tongue, but the door opens wide and the nurse steps in.

The old hag has never liked Aeris and he has…no idea why, honestly. She adjusts her glasses and fixes him a cold stare. "Valens? Your mother's here. Be careful on that leg and drink lots of water. Have a nice evening."

Lou grins. "You too, Ms. Andes!" Because, apparently, Lou is on great terms with the entire fucking staff on campus for no reason at all — oh, what the fuck, Lou got along with _everyone_ on the campus for. No reason at all in general. Aeris isn't even surprised when the nurse smiles back at him.

He'd literally rather face his mother than hear their idle conversation. Stepping outside, though, is not his mother. It's none other than, he absolutely cannot believe this, Shizaki Mayatume himself.

Mayatume still wears that furrowed brow expression from before. Aeris will never get over those weirdly covered eyes for the rest of his so-far miserable life. He's just. Sitting in the lobby in a chair, hands neatly folded and gaze almost bewildered at the sight of the ground.

Aeris regrets knowing how to breathe. Because right now, he's doing it too loudly and Mayatume is looking straight at him and ahaha Jesus fuck Lou needs to hurry up _right_ now before Aeris goes _feral_ — 

"Hey — "

"No. Goodbye."

He doesn't sprint to the car. He's not barefoot and doesn't just realize that when gravel assaults his soles. He's not panicking or flustered or feeling stupid and he's _certainly_ not being laughed at by Lou or yelled at by his mother. No siree.

All that happens that day is Aeris decides he never wants to see Shizaki Mayatume ever again in his life. All that happens that semester is Aeris breaks his own vow.

That is all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahaha 😎


	4. Eurus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can't take any gold or rings further than the grave  
> Nothing we make can we bring  
> But still, the bait hanging from the string is calling my name  
> And like the wind, it slips again  
> Out of my fingers

He knows the day they met was destined to come soon. He knows the rumors and outcome of the fight were going to catch up to him quickly. He knows. He absolutely knows. But he's not _ready_. His pride is still stuck in a ditch some 20 miles into the earth and that memory of mismatched eyes glowing ominously in the bright sun is etched into his mind. 

But the fencing club, it seems, is bitter about his resignation, and sends none other than Mayatume himself to convince him to stay.

They send a formal excuse, for fuck's sake. Aeris is doodling in the margins of some random physics report when they do. The teacher isn't pleased, the sender of the note isn't pleased, Aeris isn't pleased, and neither is the fencing club

(He'd literally rather get stabbed 17 times rather than go back to it.)

Why they have to call him into the counselor's office for something so stupid and simple, Aeris doesn't know. The hall monitors shoot him dirty looks while he shuffles to B wing for judgment day in utter defeat. 

(They've — like half the school, really — all hated him since the semester began and he has a feeling that's not susceptible to change.)

The doors are wide open and foreboding. Aeris, against all better judgment and detest at being in class, opens it and almost has a stroke when he sees who's sitting on the chair with a passive expression.

"Hey."

Ah.

…

Oh. Oh, fuck. Oh, _fuck_ —

"No. Goodbye."

"Hey, wait!"

"No. Goodbye."

Aeris is fully prepared to start sprinting through the halls, but flashes of the match and Mayatume's insane speed flicker and die and he decides he'd rather face him now rather than be chased and flagged down like sport.

He turns back to Mayatume, sighs, and sits across the desk from him bitterly. "Well, here I am. What do you want?"

Mayatume actually smiles wide. He sticks his palm out and speaks in a voice like melted ivory and hardened honey. "Well, first of all, to introduce myself! We haven't gotten a chance to formally meet and since we're both going to be attending the fencing club — "

"Ah, no. I left, remember? And I don't plan on coming back." Aeris crosses his arms and is very distantly aware he must look like a child. "I also have no intention of us getting to know each other regardless. Is that all? Because if you'll excuse me — "

"Huh? Oh, no! Please, just wait, would you? Ah, I suppose that's. One of the things I was sent to speak to you about." Mayatume coughs nervously and sinks further into the seat before springing back up. "However, I also wanted to ask about your physical well-being. Your legs, they looked, um, terrible, to say the least."

Oh, right. He'd seen that. No, he hadn't just seen it, he'd — he'd carried Aeris to the nurse's office after passing out on the floor and — fuck. He's definitely not forgetting this ever. But his dignity lasted this long and he's not backing out now.

"Yeah, I'm fine now, thanks for asking." Aeris doesn't mean for it to come out so sarcastically, but Mayatume — he's known him, of him, more like, less than a week — somehow manages to bring out the worst in himself. Luckily, he forgives and forgets in an instant.

"Great to hear. I've still never told you my name, though. And, if you don't mind, I'd like to know yours, too."

The hand reaches out again and, honestly? Not only does Aeris have zero pride, fucks, or anything at all to lose, but one idiot knowing his name wasn't the end of the world. Not for now, at least.

He takes the hand and only half regrets it. "Aeris Geneviere Valens. Yes, _the_ Valens. No, I'm not my extremely extroverted, cheese-obsessed, self-proclaimed kazoo expert, younger brother. That'd be Lou and you'd be disappointed."

Mayatume blinks once and nods. "Valens? Lou? I've never heard of either name, but I'm glad I've met you, at last." He laughs more confidently this time. "My name is Shizaki. Shizaki Mayatume. And…you probably haven't heard of me at all, really. Unless you've got connections in the business club."

"Business club?" Aeris doesn't mean to blurt, but Mayatume's eyes — Jesus fuck, are they contacts or not? — light up like a Christmas tree before his lips go on a tangent.

"Yes, I do drop by the meetings whenever I can. Baibai gets upset when it doesn't see me for too long but Yinhe's got such a busy schedule, it's hard to get a minute with her or it at all."

Baibai? Yinhe? Aeris nods along and pretends he has an idea of who these people are. Mayatume doesn't seem to mind. He rambles and rambles and rambles and Aeris thinks his next class must be over by the time he stops and changes the subject.

"But enough about me. The reason you were called here today was because Mr. B is, um, very enthusiastic about the fencing club." His hands fold neatly upon the table and Aeris is torn between laughing and rolling his eyes. "He was excited when so many people signed up, but after the debut, more than half of the members dropped out. I can't imagine why, fencing club is great, but I've been sent to re-recruit our lost club mates and hopefully get Mr. B's spirits up." He looks up earnestly and smiles with more than his lips. "So, what do you say? Ready to come back to fencing?"

He sounds so convincing that, for a minute, Aeris almost says yes. He snaps out of it last second and instead says, quite eloquently, "No. Goodbye."

He piles up his things and stands in tune with the bell. Mayatume is sitting in the chair, still, struck with a sort of wide-eyed gaze that Aeris has to physically pull himself away and out the door with. He tells himself it's the last time he's ever speaking to Mayatume again, but last time had been the last and suddenly the times are getting blurred and he's never been good at keeping promises, anyway.

And he's right.

English passes in a flurry of appraisals for his "deeply inspiring" poems about being murdered in a forest and Mayatume still has not left Aeris's mind. It's a morbid curiosity more than anything — what does the business club have to do with this wannabe samurai? Where the fuck did he learn to fence like that? _Why_? What the hell is the deal with those mismatched eyes and did he even live up to his 150% score on the emo scale?

He doesn't get answers by seeking them. After the counselor's office, the idiot himself waltzes up to his lone place at the school rooftop during lunch and sits down beside him like he fucking belongs there. He doesn't even say anything, just stares at the wide, empty space like he's watching it be filled.

"Can I help you?"

"Rejoin fencing club."

"No. Goodbye."

Mayatume raises an eyebrow at him. "Are you just going to say that every time? You're not even getting up to leave."

He's not? Ah, no. It took the last dregs of strength Aeris possessed to get him up here and he doesn't even know how he's getting down, if he's being honest.

"That was your queue to leave. Listen, Mayatume — "

" Call me Shizaki."

"No." He grabs the cold railing and stands while his legs shriek at the movement. "I appreciate your demands, any club would be lucky to have me, truly, but the fencing club sucks and you'd have to drag my dead body there to see me in it."

"You're horribly morbid, you know, " Mayatume murmurs, turning to the sky again. "Your legs are trembling. How'd you even get up here? Do you need help getting down?"

Aeris speaks a fuck ton louder than he's meaning to. "Absolutely not."

"I was just being polite, but well…"

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Aeris opens his mouth to ask, but his legs give way and suddenly there are arms around his back and the entire world flips on its axis.

Before he knows it, Mayatume, the utter _bastard_ , has carried him down and away from the rooftop just as the bell rings.

Aeris does not scream, he doesn't. He doesn't pound his fists against the idiot's shoulder and demand to be put down and it doesn't not work until he's on the floor next to his following class and nobody else sees the exchange.

But if Aeris raises hell the day after at lunch and files his complaints to a laughing Mayatume, then it was nobody's business but his own.

It's not like the idiot _minds_ , anyway.

Because he comes over the next lunch and the next one and the one after that asking the same old question and Aeris always has the same old answer that Mayatume isn't somehow tired of hearing. They never stick on that, anymore. The conversation always twists and turns into something more and Aeris walks away learning more about Mayatume than he'll ever know about himself.

For example, he likes rice. Like, a lot. You'll never see him not eating a lone bowl of just fucking rice at lunch and you'll never see him complain about it, either. He's also apparently only interested in fencing because it's the closest thing one can get to being a samurai and Aeris can not believe he's the first to ask why he kins sword-wielding.

Mayatume also is unaware of his own and everyone else's popularity. He knows no one and is surprised to hear everyone knows him.

"I just don't see how," he says one windy noonday. "I mean, I don't really speak to anyone and I don't do anything interesting. People are strange."

Aeris drops his fork on the ground after hearing it. Was he always this clueless? Did he not get that _fencing_ was _not_ a popular sport and enjoying it was even less common? What kind of world was he living in?

"You fucking fence. Nobody, look at me, nobody does that. _Especially_ not for fun, you," Aeris points a finger at his face, "are extremely well known and it's about time you admit it."

Mayatume just swats the hand away and sighs. "I suppose so."

The wind sweeps away the fork. Aeris lets it and stands in tune with the bell like at every lunch before and every lunch to come. "Good." And he's off.

He also finally understands the mystery of the mismatched eyes. Sort of. Mayatume says they're not contacts and doesn't think anything's strange about them. Hell, when Aeris first asks, Mayatume thinks he's talking about a scar he had in the same area. Which, he also learns, came from a fencing incident a long time ago.

Aeris can't get away with knowing all this without giving something in return, unfortunately. Mayatume learns that Aeris was transferred from a private school to here for getting into trouble and that he has 2 siblings. He learns not to ask about the second one or about the trouble and…it's not that bad. It really isn't. He's still not joining the fencing club for as long as he lives, but after that it's okay. Enjoyable, even, because only having Lou for company for so long does things to his head that no man should have to endure.

Aeris will ask one day, that "why do you keep talking to me even though I keep declining your offer?" will roll off his tongue, but he won't get a true answer until the time is right. For now, "because you're interesting" is enough.

He still hates Mayatume's guts, don't be confused. That is not changing. But maybe the extent is. Maybe.

The fencing club can still suck it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> en dios?


	5. A Convocation of Fauns (A Faunvocation, If You Will)

The implorations don't stop coming.

Aeris doesn't know how many cursed weeks have gone by since he got his ass handed to him on a silver platter and he doesn't care, either. The fencing club keeps sending their favorite delivery boy straight to him at lunch and if it weren't for the witnesses he'd be dead in a ditch by now.

So it's only a matter of the before Lou caught on to their routine.

He's not expecting Mayatume today, he isn't. He's not disappointed, surprised, or even notice that he doesn't appear in front of him today and he's certainly not about to complain about it. He's glad. Elated. Euphoric. Excited. Every other positively charged, e-starting adjective in the dictionary.

But God, he'll take the wannabe samurai over _Lou_ any day.

Mayatume is slightly intrusive and clueless and the pillar of idiocy, but Lou…Lou is extremely intrusive, exponentially clueless, and exceeds the limit of idiocy just be breathing.

"Hey, taser-bitch!" Lou calls out to him from across the courtyard and sprints at an inhumane distance. "You got a minute?"

"No. Not for you, absolutely not. Goodbye."

"Oh, but you seem to have plenty for Shizaki!"

Aeris feels his blood freeze. He stops in his tracks and Lou is standing right _there_ , grinning while the wind tugs at his hair. He places a hand on his brother's shoulder and shamelessly laughs.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"To talk, geez." Lou sighs dramatically and places a hand over his heart. "It wounds me, you know, seeing my dear brother keep so many secrets from me and think I wouldn't find out. You know, — "

Aeris blinks down at Lou and removes the hand from his shoulder. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Your new boyfriend, of course!"

What the _fuck_? God, if Aeris was drinking anything he'd have spit it out. New boyfriend? _Who_? _Why_? What the _fuck_? He forgets how to breathe again. Doesn't register he's already dragged Lou away to a quieter corner until the sunlight dims above their heads.

"Explain. Now."

He has the decency to laugh. "Aha! That's what I should be asking you, actually. Don't worry, I approve. Mom will too, she'll think he's better than the last, at least. Especially once you tell her — "

"Lou. Look at me," Aeris grabs his shoulders and shakes them until the starstruck look from his eyes is gone. "I have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

He gapes. The o-shaped expression comes back in full force as the brain cell works overdrive. "Wait, you mean you're not — you and — oh. Actually, that explains a lot. You probably don't — ah. Aha. Ahaha. That's actually so funny, but, I have to go — "

Aeris has to physically restrain him from leaving."You're not going anywhere, not until you tell me what the fuck it is you're talking about."

Lou blinks. And blinks. Again and again, until the brain cell finally undergoes mitosis and the request kicks in.

"Oh. Well, I just thought that — you and Shizaki — you both seemed _really_ close and — "

" _What_? You — you thought we — me and that — that _idiot_! You? _You_ thought — "

"Well, yeah, but I guess you haven't figured it out yet so," Lou slides out from under his outstretched arm and walks into the sunlight. "Good luck with that, I guess. See you later."

"What do you _mean_? There's absolutely _nothing_ to figure out! We're not — I don't — not _him_! What the _fuck_? Hey, get back here!" Aeris runs after him. Tries, anyway. Because his stupid fucking legs refuse to move after about 3 steps and send his knees tumbling down into the dirt.

Lou isn't heartless. He comes sprinting back, pokes at his leg, and starts to shriek like a devil. Aeris lets him, it's, apparently, his go-to for " someone get the nurse" and it's, unfortunately, exactly who he has to see right now before his legs get amputated.

The nurse's office seems routine at this point. There's no Mayatume to carry him out, but Aeris finds spite-filled strength and drags himself there while Lou babbles his ear off on the way.

He's piling up on various fluids in a poor excuse for a gurney when Lou finally shuts up. He sits there, beside the bed, humming a tune he's never heard and if it weren't for the fact that the brain cell constantly forgot how it went, Aeris would've fallen asleep.

Instead, Aeris decides it's finally time Lou gave a proper response. "Why?"

"Huh? Um, why wh — "

"Why did you think me and — and _Mayatume_ were a _couple_?"

Lou shrugs and leans back into the chair. "Well, it's like I said." He grabs a pen from the counter and clicks it continuously. "You just seemed really close, and you don't like anyone, so."

"So?"

The pen falls on the floor. Lou ducks down to look for it. "So I figured he was special. I mean, this happened last time with Merrick, didn't it? You — "

Aeris hits his ducked back with the pillow and feels his hands shake. "We don't _talk_ about _Merrick_ ," he hisses, downing the cup of water like a shot. "And you know what? We don't talk about _Mayatume_ , either. He's not — we're not — "

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it, 200% emo. You're in your feelings or whatever." Lou pops up from the floor triumphantly, holding a different pen than the one he'd dropped. "It wouldn't be so bad, though, would it? You over exaggerate everything, these days."

"Gee, thanks."

Lou shrugs. "Am I wrong? Anyway," he drops the pen and goes under again, "Ms. Andes says you're on bed rest until after school. After that, you can just like, die I guess. Maybe stay the night here. Either that or Mom will pick you up. Again. She won't be happy about it, though. But hey, look at it this way — "

"Lou? _What_ are you still doing here, child? Valens will be fine, you should be in class."

"Oh. Right. See ya, then. Don't die. Shizaki would be sad — "

"Fuck off."

"Language, sir."

"Right, sorry."

"Ha! Well," Lou steps out the door and stops. He peeks into the lobby, widens his eyes, and turns back into the room grinning. "Well, it seems you have a visitor. Good luck with that. Bye!"

Visitor? Good god, you could _do_ that here? Public schools were strange. The door opens and closes and opens and closes again and Aeris wishes it had just stayed shut.

"Hey."

"Oh, what the fuck?" 

" _Language_ , sir!"

" _Sorry_. I just — "

"Right."

The nurse leaves. For once, he wishes she hadn't. He wished for a lot of things, now, actually. Because now he's alone in a room with none other than Mayatume and a pile of floor-pens Lou had generously collected before dipping.

"Hey. Again."

"Hey."

Mayatume holds out his hands and reveals a steaming tupperware. "I brought rice."

Aeris doesn't know how to tell him he doesn't like rice, so he doesn't. Just accepts the box and puts it off to the side next to the pens. The room feels ten times smaller, somehow.

"Thanks."

He nods. And speaks. And Aeris responds. And…that's it. Mayatume asks about the leg and Lou and the pens and his day and anything else and Aeris tells him and, somehow, the conversation never tires.

Aeris has never been great at casual, genuine conversation like this, but Mayatume makes it easy. There's no double meaning behind his words or trick to decipher, just simple talking and simple responding. Mayatume either doesn't have class or is ditching and before he knows it, the day is done and gone.

"I've got to go, but are you sure you'll be okay? This is like, the second time you've been here because of that leg and I wasn't even there to carry you."

Aeris can't tell if he's joking or not, but his cheeks go red regardless. "I'll be fine. Us Valens children are a tough bunch." A lie, but Mayatume doesn't need to know that. "Plus isn't there a," he fake shudders, " _fencing_ club meeting today? Wouldn't want them missing you.

"Well, I wouldn't want _you_ missing me, either," he laughs. "I won't ask today, it's clear you're not making it to the club right now, but I'm also not going. Business club affairs, babysitting duties, you know."

He doesn't, but he's not about to ask. He just watches the door shut and looks up at the clock. The nurse organizes her desk, his mother sends a text saying she'll be late, and the rice on the counter grows colder.

All in all, a could-have-been-worse day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wghwgwhhsjgsgw


	6. Hieroglyphs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cause you've been too busy thinking ahead  
> Of where we're all going after we're dead  
> To maybe consider our bodies are worth  
> More than the dust that we can return

Aeris falls asleep to the sound of heels gliding along the floor. Lou's tune from earlier circles in his head and when he wakes up, his parting words do, too.

" _It wouldn't be so bad, though, would it? You over exaggerate everything, these days._ "

Okay, maybe he does. But that didn't mean _shit_ in this situation — scratch that, there _was_ no situation. Lou could ramble all he wanted, but he was wrong about most things and this assumption was most definitely one of them.

( The fluttering in his heart at the sight of that idiot has always been a traitor. The redness in his cheeks was, too)

" _I mean, this happened last time with Merrick, didn't it_?"

And wasn't _that_ just the big picture, then. He'd left honey and bitter wine and something, _something_ else back there and now there's. Something else. It's not the same, it can't be. Because one thing was over but not everything ended. Surely, not this, either.

(Surely, even the most immovable of objects like his stupid heart could move an inch at the sight of an unstoppable force?)

Enough of _that_ , anyway.

When they stop feeling like they're going to break at the gust of wind, Aeris stands on both legs and makes haste to be anywhere else but here. He has to lie to get out of the nurse's office, but it's worth it. The bedsheets are crumpled and smell like expired cereal, saying his mother was outside was a small price to pay in exchange for freedom to wander the halls.

There are no hall monitors after school hours. There's nobody to tell him where to go or to get out of while the clubs continue their mindless chatting from behind closed classroom doors.

So of course the person he can't decide if he hates or adores has to show up right in front of one of them.

Mayatume — can he call him Shizaki yet? How long had it taken to stop slipping into Liennes? — is sitting beside the door with something in his arms and a content look on his face. It makes a sound and twitches and Aeris can't help but wonder if it's a rat.

The need to inhale oxygen fucks him over again. Mayatume looks up sharply and when he sees him walking, he grins wider.

"Hey."

"Hey. Again."

He laughs and pets the animal. "Yeah, again. Your leg seems better than before, that's a relief."

"Still not joining fencing club, though."

"Figures."

"Why are you still here?"

Ah, how Aeris despises saying the first thing that comes to mind. Lou says it's a trait he'd gotten from someone else, but he doesn't like thinking about it. Not when he needs a question answered.

"Oh, babysitting duties, I told you. Baibai's a pleasure to take care of."

Aeris stares at the — is that thing a rabbit, then? — animal and nods. "You know, most people babysit babies, like in the name. Not," he crouches down to look at the creature, "rabbits. So, _this_ is the infamous Baibai, then."

"Yes, actually. Would you like to pet it?"

"What?"

Mayatume lifts the tuff of fluff in his arms slightly higher and tilts it forwards almost invitingly. "Would you like to pet it?"

Ah. Aeris has only ever pet cats, and his mother really is due any minute. The obvious "no, you idiot" answer is ready to roll off his tongue, but the rabbit's nose twitches and it suddenly looks very warm and inviting and —

"Sure."

He laughs, and Aeris feels like he should be humiliated, but he isn't. The sound is music to his ears as the rabbit finds its way into his arms. 

(Their hands touch for a brief second in the exchange and they're surprisingly warm. Not that he's paying attention. Or cares. Or wants to do it again. Or — )

It's as soft as it looks. Baibai, Aeris loves it already, twitches its nose once more and buries its head into his arms. He audibly gasps at its warmth and ignores the snickers coming from beside him.

"It seems he likes you," says Mayatume, reaching out to pet its ears. "Baibai doesn't like too many people. You're one of the lucky few."

Aeris stores that information away and gives him a look. "Lucky few? Does that mean you are, too?"

"Yes, actually. Yinhe says it's because I'm tall, but that's ridiculous. I'm sure there's another reason."

"Right." Aeris runs his fingers through its fur and feels the stress melt away. "You're not even that tall anyway." He bites his tongue to keep from laughing. "Are you sure you don't have, like, grass stuffed in your pocket to keep the poor creature attached to you?"

Mayatume actually looks offended. His back straightens and his eyebrows furrow while he stands up straighter. Aeris thinks he looks stupid, but there's suddenly a shadow looming over him and he looks up to a face contorted in mock rage.

"Give it back."

"What? No! It likes me and it's soft, fuck off."

"It's confused, it knows better. Don't you, Baibai? Here, come to papa." Mayatume, the utter bastard, opens his arms as the rabbit, an utter traitor, looks at Aeris once before hopping straight in.

He makes a noise like a crashing helicopter and reaches for it, already missing it. It falls back into his arms at a price. Twitching its nose repeatedly, it opens its mouth and snaps its jaws down on Aeris's bare hand.

"Ah, _fuck_ — "

His fingers bleed red. Baibai lands on the floor and hops beneath a nearby water fountain — funny how full circle things could be —and leaves him without mercy. Mayatume gasps and chases after it.

"Baibai! That was incredibly rude! Bad rabbit, wait until I tell Yinhe. You — "

"I forgive you because you're very soft," Aeris murmurs, only half delirious. The bite stings and aches and should not hurt this much but somehow does. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

He stands from the floor and. Promptly falls back into it like a dumbass. Because of course, his legs don't know what the fuck to do anymore and his hand bleeds still.

Something feels wrong. Like he's forgetting something. Mauatume catches the rabbit and turns back to him, but Aeris can barely process the color of his eyes before everything goes blurry. But why? It's just a rabbit bite, it's not —

Ah. Yes. Right. Aeris turns back to his hand and forgets how to breathe.

"I pass out when I see blood," is the last thing he thinks before doing just that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> on JAH what the FU


	7. Passerine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you were the song that I'd always sing  
> you were the light that the fire would bring  
> but I can't shake this feeling that I was only  
> pushing the spear into your side again

He doesn't even have to ask how he ends up in the nurse's office again when he wakes.

Mayatume is sitting in the familiar chair with Baibai still in his arms and a look of concern plastered over his face. When Aeris opens his eyes wide enough, Baibai leaps into his lap and buries its head into the blanket. There's a bandage on his hand illuminated by window light. He didn't think the nurse even had bandages.

"You're awake!"

"Unfortunately."

"You had me very worried. Baibai's never bitten anyone before, and I was afraid you were allergic or something." Mayatume sighs. "But I'm glad you're okay. I'm sorry I had to carry you here again, I know you don't really appreciate it, but — "

"Thanks."

He shoots Aeris a confused look. Ah, well. It's now or never, he supposes. The rabbit rests itself on his arms, now.

"I do appreciate it, actually. So, thanks, not just for this time or the other times, but." Aeris pets Baibai and bites his lip before continuing. "But for everything else. The talking and company and hell, even the fencing club requests. Turns out I don't mind nearly as much as I thought, so."

"Oh."

Oh. Oh, nice one, Aeris. You just said a list of unnecessary things. Wow. Congrats. He opens his mouth to fix it, take it back, anything to undo it and —

And Mayatume just laughs. He turns his head back and mouth open wide and cackles like the sound of church bells. Utterly ridiculous. Stupid. Extremely off putting and not at all endearing.

And, oh, what the fuck? Aeris has never had anything to lose, not since the stupid club debut, and has everything to win. Baibai reads his mind and hops atop the counter. It sniffs the rice and drops the pens just as Mayatume finally comes back to his senses.

"Well, that's a relief, I suppose — "

The kiss fixes and breaks in an instant. Before he knows it, Aeris has leaned in, pressed their lips together, and leans back out in a few seconds. The room spins and he forgets how to breathe all over again.

He opens his mouth to — to what, really? Apologize? He's not sorry. He's not anything. Not now, not ever. Not until Mayatume does something other than gape at him and press fingers against his own lips.

"I — "

They've gone under again. This one is different. Mayatume leans in first this time and it's years longer and a million times sweeter. It's still over too quick. He's a mess of red cheeks and warm lips, but before he can lean in again, the nurse walks in holding a clipboard and the most bored expression he's ever seen.

"Valens? Your mother is here. Again. Because you supposedly left an hour ago." She stares at their too-close frames and sighs. "Tell your brother he won the bet. Have a nice day and please, Mayatume, get that creature out of here. This is a sanitary environment."

"Baibai is very clean, Ms. Andes." Mayatume says with a shaky smile.

Aeris can admit he snorts and hides his face with his arms.

"So, it is." She pets it once and nods in approval. "Alright, I'll make an exception because it looks very polite, but I'm sure its owner will be missing it about now."

"Ah, yes. Yes! I should — I should go. I'll. Go give it to her, goodbye, Ms. Andes, Aeris."

And just like that, Mayatume and Baibai are gone. Aeris stares at the door. That feeling of warm lips refuses to leave and his legs refuse to move from the bed.

The nurse sighs once and gives him a disapproving glare. "You couldn't have waited another week?"

He goes red and stutters. "Sorry? I — I'll tell Lou in 7 days?" He fiddles with the pens and removes the blankets. "Thank you, sorry for bothering you all these days." The rice is grabbed and his legs don't give way after standing. "Goodbye, Ms. Andes."

".... Goodbye, Aeris."

Oh? This was…new? Ah, well. Being on good terms with the nurse was a good thing considering how much he was in here these da —

As soon as the door to the nurse's office shuts, the lips are back. They said third time's the charm, and Aeris can tell. Mayatume — _Shizaki_ — has to duck down an entire foot to reach, but they're fine, more than fine actually. Spectacular. Superb. Absolutely —

"Ahem."

Ah, right. The nurse. They were. Literally right outside her office and. The school was closing. She was going home. Like he should be. Because his mother is probably outside and oh, fuck, she was going to be mad.

"Sorry, Ms. Andes." He can't look at her. Not with his hands cupping someone else's face and legs starting to falter so soon.

"Quite alright," she says gently. And with that, she's off for good.

"So."

"So."

"Does this mean you're rejoining fencing club?"

"Ha! You wish."

"I do."

"Quite unfortunate." Aeris picks at his nails absentmindedly. "But business club? Sounds…enticing. Not the actual thing, but being a co babysitter doesn't sound so bad."

"Really?"

"Really."

Shizaki stifles a laugh and sighs. "Then, I suppose this is goodbye until the next meeting."

"Oh, you wish." Aeris turns to go, because otherwise he's never leaving this goddamn building. "Come and find me next lunch. Rooftop. In case I pass out."

"You seem to do that a lot."

"Only when you're there to catch me." And he's only half joking.

The rice is absolutely cold, now, and Aeris still doesn't like it. But he hasn't eaten all day and if he's forcing it down his throat then he won't have to answer his mother's questions until the entire box was gone. 

Aeris first meets the local wannabe samurai when he gets his ass kicked by him at the school's fencing club debut and doesn't regret a thing.

The freshman in halls could suck it, anyway.


End file.
